Andy Bruckmiller

In the spring of 1989, the movie Field of Dreams introduced the public to an obscure figure in baseball history named Archibald Wright “Moonlight” Graham. His time in the major leagues amounted to two innings in one game played on June 29, 1905. This piece of baseball trivia has fascinated both moviegoers and fans of the game ever since. However, Graham was no anomaly. In fact, there have been many players whose time in the majors amounted to one full game or less. One in particular, Andy Bruckmiller, had his one and only shot in the junior circuit just three days prior to Graham’s debut with the New York Giants. However, unlike Graham, Bruckmiller is all but forgotten. What follows is a biographical sketch of an obscure pitcher from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, who played more than a century ago.

Born on January 1, 1882 in McKeesport (Pennsylvania), Andrew Bruckmiller was the son of John B. and Barbra Bruckmiller.1 A first-generation German American, John Bruckmiller (1849-1914) made his living as a plumber.2 His wife, Barbara Kuhn Bruckmiller (1860-1930) was an immigrant from Baden-Württemberg, Germany.3 According to the 1900 census, the couple along with their children, Joseph, Matilda, Rosa, Andrew, and John P., made their home in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, a town situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers about 12 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.4 In this document, Bruckmiller’s name is recorded as “Anthony” with “Laborer (Iron Mill)” given as his occupation.5 Little about his pre-baseball career is known save that his highest level of education completed was eighth grade.6  That’s the extent of information available about Bruckmiller before the year 1902, when he first entered the baseball world, playing for the Allentown Athletic Club (Allentown is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh) where he was called the “McKeesport Rube Waddell.”7

 In 1903, he again pitched for Allentown and then later for the J.C. Little’s of McKeesport with whom he allowed 18 hits on August 30, 1903, against the Fisher Athletic Club of Southside (another neighborhood in Pittsburgh).8 He also dabbled in the world of football, playing for the Coliseum A.A. (Athletic Association) in McKeesport.9 The most noticeable aspect of these years and the years up to 1911 was that he didn’t play under the name Bruckmiller; instead, he used the alias “Brookmiller.” The exact reason for this has been lost to time. However, it was not unusual for people both in and out of the sports world to Anglicize their surname at this junction in American history.

During the 1904 season, Andy began to make a name for himself. In the early spring he pitched for the Glassport (Pennsylvania) baseball team.10 By June he was pitching for the McKeesport Steel Works team.11 Even the newspapers started to take notice. In the July 8 issue of the Pittsburg Post, an article about the McKeesport team stated that “Brookmiller is rather young but has a splendid arm and uses his head well. He is certainly a comer.”12 On August 12, Bruckmiller’s name appeared in the headline of the sports page of the Pittsburgh Gazette after he pitched the McKeesport Elks to a victory over Ad Gumbert and the Pittsburgh Elks in the Elks’ League.13

On August 27, Andy struck out 13 batters from the Bridgeville (Pennsylvania) baseball team, yet again showcasing his ability on the mound.14 Bruckmiller was one of the hottest pitchers in the Mon Valley region.15 As the 1904 baseball season ended, little did Bruckmiller know that his one chance in the majors was just around the corner.

As the 1905 season dawned, the Pittsburg Post ran an article reporting that players for the Edgar Thompson Works team (Braddock) would be practicing as long as the weather held. Among the player names listed was “Brookmiller.”16 Though Braddock lost to Pittsburg Collegians’ twice at the beginning of May, a headline in the May 23 edition of the Pittsburgh Gazette read “M’Keesport Cannot Hit Brookmiller; Is Beaten.”17 Bruckmiller was now playing against his hometown team. “Brookmiller had McKeesport at his mercy,” the Gazette observed after he struck out five and led Braddock to a 2-0 victory.18 Then on June 10, 1905, the Pittsburg Press announced that, “Andy Brookmiller, a McKeesport boy who is pitching for Braddock, has received an offer from Detroit, and may accept.”19  A day later the Detroit Free Press ran the headline, “Tigers Sign A Twirler.”20 Bruckmiller, now 21 and in the prime of his career, received a wire from Detroit manager Bill Armour to meet the team in Philadelphia.  He left McKeesport that evening to join the Tigers in the “Quaker City.”21 The article further stated that he came “highly recommended by Fred Hartman and other old league players as a ‘find.’ He has plenty of steam and all the curves on the pitching calendar.”22

Standing five-foot-11 and weighing 175 pounds with brown hair and a clean-shaven face, the right-handed hurler and batter had the look of an athlete.23 The Detroit Free Press wrote that “he is touted as another Matthewson and resembles Christy in build.”24 Without a loss in 16 games with Braddock and leading the Independent League with 17 strikeouts in a single game, Bruckmiller’s star was on the rise as he headed to meet Detroit.25

On June 13, a Detroit Free Press caption read “Brookmiller Reports, and Is Well Thought Of.”26 The accompanying article stated that “Young Brookmiller, the pitcher from McKeesport, whose repertoire is said to comprise everything, and who is being given a try-out, showed up today. He is a likely looking stripling, and his friends all predict that he will deliver the goods.”27 With all this positive press and praise hyping him up, Bruckmiller was now under the microscope of Armour and his Detroit teammates.

On June 19, the Tigers were set to play an exhibition game against the Lynn (Massachusetts) Shoemakers, a minor league team playing in the New England League. Andy was going to get his chance to show Detroit and the baseball world just what he could do.28

On the day of the game, the press reported, “Manager Amour, and the players are curious to see how the new pitching lad, young Brookmiller, who joined in Philadelphia, will make out in his first attempt with the Lynn chaps in the exhibition séance there tomorrow. The stripling has been working satisfactorily in practice and is keen to stay on under the big tent. His work tomorrow will furnish a sort of line upon him for the Lynn crowd are known as the punchers among the minors.”29 But June 19 turned out to be a letdown for Bruckmiller. While no play-by-play account of the game was discovered, Clarence L. Cullen of the Detroit Free Press wrote “Trade of Ford talked of, and Brookmiller is minors bound.”30 In the same article, Cullen reported that “Young Brookmiller, the stripling pitcher picked up at Philadelphia, is not likely to make Detroit with the team. The boy is not without promise, but he is far from ready. A period of seasoning in the minors will give him the experience he lacks and make him ready for the main show.”31 Cullen proved mistaken as Bruckmiller was about to make his major league debut.

On June 26, Detroit faced Cleveland with Earl Moore on the mound for the visitors. During the first five innings, the game see-sawed back and forth. Thereafter, Cleveland took a commanding 11-4 lead into the ninth. In the final frame, Detroit sent Bruckmiller to the mound, giving the rookie a chance to show them what he had. Regrettably, Andy flunked the audition, surrendering four base hits and a walk, good for three earned runs. He also struck out one. Final score: Cleveland 14, Detroit 5. The one-inning relief stint finalized Bruckmiller’s major league pitching record at 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA, while the out that Andy made in a bottom-of-the-ninth plate appearance left him with a .000 career batting average.

Detroit optioned Bruckmiller and sent him down to the minors. It was reported that he was heading to the Sault Ste. Marie (Michigan) Soo’s in the Copper County-Soo League, but he never made it.32 On July 18, the Minneapolis Journal reported that “The Detroit American league club released Pitcher Brookmiller to the Soo. He was given transportation to the ‘Lock City’ but took the train to his home in Pennsylvania. He will be prevented from playing with any association club until he comes to time.”33 While the exact reasons why he failed to report are unknown, Bruckmiller found his way back to the Edgar Thompson Works team for the remainder of the season, even being ejected from a game for “objectionable language.”34

Between 1906-1910, Bruckmiller stuck around the Monongahela Valley playing for a myriad of semiprofessional baseball teams across the region.35 In 1911, he ventured south to play for Petersburg Goobers of the Class C Virginia League where he helped the team win the championship.36 In 1912, Bruckmiller started out the season with the Detroit Tigers before being turned over almost immediately to the Buffalo Bisons of the International League.37 In April, the Buffalo Express announced that he was sent to the Richmond Colts of the Virginia League.38 Bruckmiller’s last recorded game with Richmond was in the first game of a doubleheader played on June 8 against the Lynchburg (Virginia) Shoemakers.39 While the course of events is unclear, by June 29 he was pitching for the Newport News (Virginia) Shipbuilders where finished out the season. There is no further mention of Bruckmiller playing baseball anywhere after 1912.

According to his draft card, Bruckmiller was married to Agnes Maude Bruckmiller (née Jenkins) and working as a plumber at the time he registered for World War I military service.40 The couple had one child, Dorthy B. Bruckmiller, born on January 26, 1915.41 They remained in the Mon Valley region, finally settling in Clairton, Pennsylvania, where Bruckmiller worked as a plumbing inspector.42 On January 12, 1970, Bruckmiller succumbed to cardio-vascular failure at McKeesport Hospital. He was 88 and thereafter buried in Elizabeth (Pennsylvania) Cemetery alongside his wife and daughter.43

Acknowledgements

This story was reviewed by Bill Lamb and David H. Lippman and fact-checked by Terry Bohn.

Photo credit: Andy Bruckmiller, Baseball-Reference.com.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 Andrew Bruckmiller death certificate. *Other sources list Pittsburgh as his place of birth.

2 John B. Bruckmiller death certificate; 1900 U.S. Census.

3 Andrew Bruckmiller death certificate. The exact date of her immigration is unknown. Barbra Brookmiller – Find A Grave Memorial. The surname is “Bruckmiller” but fluctuates in the historic record with Brookmiller. Barbra Brookmiller death certificate

4 1900 U.S. Census. Andrew is mistakenly named “Anthony” on this document.

5 1900. U.S. Census.

6 1940 U.S. Census.

7 “To Play Ball for $250 a Side,” Pittsburg Post, August 30, 1902: 6.

8 “Allentowns Will Meet This Friday,” Pittsburg Post, March 22, 1903: 15; “Fisher A.C. Improving,” Pittsburg Post, August 30, 1903: 14.

9 “Football Notes,” Pittsburg Press, September 23, 1903: 19.

10 “Shutout Narrowly Averted,” Pittsburg Press, April 3, 1904: 18.

11 “Johnny Welsh with McKeesport,” Pittsburg Post, June 29, 1904: 6.

12 “News from McKeesport,” Pittsburg Post, July 8, 1904: 8.

13 “Brookmiller Wins Game for M’Keesport Elks,” Pittsburgh Gazette, August 12, 1904: 7.

14 “M’Keesport Is Defeated,” Pittsburg Post, August 28, 1904: 13.

15 “Mon Valley,” short for Monongahela Valley, is a local term used to describe the area where the Monongahela River flows between Pittsburgh and Point Marion, Pennsylvania, on the West Virginia border. The Mon Valley Region accessed: July 22, 2025.

16 “Braddock Players Report,” Pittsburg Post, April 23, 1905: 15.

17 “Collegians Win Again,” Pittsburg Post, May 11, 1905: 8; “M’Keesport Cannot Hit Brookmiller; Is Beaten,” Pittsburgh Gazette, May 23, 1905: 9.

18 “M’Keesport Cannot Hit Brookmiller,” above.

19 “Baseball Notes,” Pittsburg Press, June 10, 1905: 10.

20 “Tigers Sign a Twirler,” Detroit Free Press, June 11, 1905: 11.

21   Armour was a resident of Homestead, Pennsylvania, another town in the Mon Valley.

22 “Tigers Sign a Twirler,” above.

23 Andrew Bruckmiller WWI draft registration card.

24 “Tigers Sign a Twirler,” above.

25 “Tigers Sign a Twirler,” above.

26 “Rest Are Welcome,” Detroit Free Press, June 13, 1905: 10.

27 “Rest Are Welcome,” above.

28 “The Hats Are Theirs,” Detroit Free Press, June 17, 1905: 10.

29 “Sore At O’Loughlin,” Detroit Free Press, June 19, 1905: 8.

30 “Eddie Siever May Again Wear Detroit Uniform,” Detroit Free Press, June 23, 1905: 10.

31 “Eddie Siever May Again Wear Detroit Uniform,” above.

32 “Much Doing on the Copper Range,” Minneapolis Journal, July 13, 1905: 5.

33 “Drawbridge Is Hurting Baseball,” Minneapolis Journal, July 18, 1905: 3.

34 “M’Keesport Give Reds Hard Run Before Losing,” Pittsburgh Gazette, August 15, 1905: 7; “Braddock Beaten at Sharon,” Pittsburg Post, September 14, 1905: 9.

35 “Fairbanks Trims Homestead,” Pittsburgh Post, June 3, 1906: 28; “Wolf’s Outfit Wallops Ball,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, May 3, 1907: 12; “Rosche A.C. Winners,” Pittsburgh Post, July 4, 1909: 12; “Tube City Valley Baseball Gossip,” Pittsburg Press, June 19, 1910: 20; “Wilkinsburg Wins Game at McKeesport,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, May 11, 1913: 20.

36 “Goobers Fight Hard, But Drop One More,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 26, 1911: 7. His name and origin are given as Archibald Percival Bruckmiller from New Jersey with blond hair. “Bruckmiller and Wright,” Buffalo Courier, January 12, 1912: 10.

37 “They Think Bisons Good,” Buffalo Express, April 30, 1912: 13. The Detroit team is called the Americans in this article.

38 “They Think Bisons Good,” above.

39 “Colts Take Both of Double Bill in Easy Fashion,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 9, 1912: 5

40 Andrew Bruckmiller WWI draft registration card. The exact date of their marriage is unknown. Agnes Maude Jenkins Bruckmiller- Find A Grave Memorial.

41 Dorothy B. Hebner death certificate. Her middle initial varies depending on the document.

42 1950 U.S. Census.

43 Andrew Bruckmiller death certificate; Andrew Bruckmiller- Find A Grave Memorial